4-A girls: Irmo rates second-round home date

Irmo finds itself with a surprising home game in the second round of the Class 4A state basketball playoffs on Friday. The Yellow Jackets will face Region 5-4A rival North Augusta after both teams scored road wins on Tuesday.

Irmo opened with a 47-46 win at Beaufort, while North Augusta stunned Region 6-4A co-champion Carolina Forest 72-71 in Myrtle Beach.

The Yellow Jackets were without leading scorer Brooke McCants, who was sick with the flue and went scoreless in only a few minutes on the floor. But Brianna Stanton more than filled the void with a career game – scoring 24 points. Stanton tallied 16 of her points and four of her six 3-pointers in the first quarter to help stake Irmo to a 12-point lead. Stanton entered the game with a 7.7 scoring average.

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The host Eagles did not quit, and kept chipping away until an 11-0 run late in the third and early in the fourth quarter pulled them within 41-38. It was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way until Sarah Green (15 points, nine rebounds) scored four of Irmo’s last six points to create just enough of a cushion.

Brittany Golden had just four points but was huge on the boards with 10 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.

Meanwhile, North Augusta got 27 points from Kaya West and 20 from Breonna Mealing while shocking CF – a team that could have had home-court advantage throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. Panthers star Lakeitha Alstron rang up 34 points, but they went for naught.

Irmo swept North Augusta during the 5-4A campaign, prevailing 50-38 at home and 53-44 on the road.

Devin Pearson led Dutch fork to a 55-39 win over Summerville, backed by nine points from Tiana Lapote and eight from Erin Houston. The Silver Foxes travel to face a tough Goose Creek team on Friday. The Gators (24-1) won the Region 7-4A championship behind the play of Aleighsa Welch (18.6 ppg, 13.9 rpg) and Denicsha Bennamon (12.5 ppg2.5 apg, 2.6 spg).